Gabriel Wells
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Gabriel Wells | |
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Born | Gabriel Weiss January 24, 1861 Hungary |
Died | November 6, 1946 | (aged 85)
Occupation | Antiquarian bookseller |
Gabriel Wells (January 24, 1861 – November 6, 1946) was a noted bookseller, historian and author. He was one of the most important antiquarian booksellers in America and Britain in the first half of the twentieth century.[1] He was president of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association in 1930.[1]
Early life
He was born Gabriel Weiss in
Career
Wells established his bookselling business in New York City. His first transaction set the stage for his lifetime modus operandi: He bought up copies of the ten-volume subscription edition of John L. Stoddard's Lectures at book auctions, rebound them, and sold them to regular book dealers who would not otherwise have access to subscription sets. He did the same with limited editions.[2]
Like his competitor, Dr. Rosenbach, Wells was active in the inter-war years in London and Europe buying up expensive books that could be sold to wealthy clients in the United States. In 1930, after the death of Henry Cecil Sotheran, Wells' purchases of books from Sotheran's during the Depression years effectively kept the business alive.[4] Henry Sotheran have been antiquarian booksellers in London since 1760, and are independently owned today.[4]
Wells was involved in a long-running rivalry with Rosenbach, who tended to get the limelight for buying the most expensive item at an auction which he then sold on direct to the public. Wells spent more overall, but invested in less high-profile books that he often passed on through the trade.[5] Unlike most booksellers, he never published a catalog of his offerings.[2]
Items handled
In 1912, Wells bought at auction a fabulous jewelled edition of the
In 1922 Wells paid $200,000 for the right to print a limited run (1,024 copies) of the definitive edition of Mark Twain's writings. The edition includes the authenticated autographs of the author and of Albert Bigelow Paine on the flyleafs. The Gabriel Wells Definitive Edition, in 35 volumes, was published in 1922–1923.[2] Another notable work that Wells handled was the original manuscript for Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal. It was eventually sold to the Philadelphia journalist and collector Barton Currie, before 1931, but for less than the $75,000 reported in the press at the time.[6][7]
One of the most significant transactions of Wells' career was his purchase of a Gutenberg Bible from Joseph Sabin, who had bought it at auction in 1920. The two-volume work (one of 41 in existence) was not in perfect condition – it was missing 50 of its 643 leaves and some of those that remained had their illuminations cut out. Wells opted to break up the Bible and sell the leaves individually, thus reaching a wider market. The leaves in perfect or good condition sold for an average of $150 each (approximately $1,500 today), while the ruined leaves were priced around $100. Each leaf was elegantly slip-cased in a "black or dark blue morocco goatskin portfolio folder" with the words "A Leaf of the Gutenberg Bible (1450–1455)" embossed on the cover in gilt lettering. Wells commissioned A. Edward Newton to write a five-page essay, "A Noble Fragment, Being a Leaf of the Gutenberg Bible (1450-1455)", which was included with each sale. Wells' decision to sell the leaves individually allowed major institutions and universities to purchase pages that they were missing from their own editions of the Gutenberg Bible. Wells gifted the New York Public Library with all but one of the leaves that it was missing from its collection.[3]
In 1939, Wells was embroiled in legal action after John Hayward discovered that
In addition to book dealing, Wells authored many pamphlets on the social and economic issues of his day.[1]
Death
Wells never married. In his will, he left his estate to his siblings and their children, as well as to the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Harvard, Rutgers University, and his native Hungarian town.[2]
Selected bibliography
Essays
- Appeal to Common Sense. Methuen. 1937.
- Gentle Reactions. Doubleday. 1923.
Speeches
- Edgar Allan Poe as a Mystic: Address Made at the Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's Birthday Held in Philadelphia, January 19th, 1934. American Book Collector. 1934.
- What Is Wrong with the Human World: An Address Made Before the Elizabethan Club at Yale University, January 23, 1940. Literary Licensing, LLC. 2013. ISBN 978-1258676476.
- Wells, Gabriel (1936). Can Peace Be Maintained in Europe? (An Address Delivered Before the Quiz Medical Society at the University Club, New York).
Pamphlets
- Wells, Gabriel (1924). A Layman's Peace Plan.
- Are We a Democracy?. Doubleday. 1927.
- On Capital Punishment. W. Heinemann Limited. 1929.
- The Menace of Divorce. Literary Licensing, LLC. 2013. ISBN 978-1258676421.
- The Great English Strike: Its Three Lessons. Doubleday. 1926.
- Arbitration. Country Life Press. 1925.
- If I Were France. Doubleday. 1926.
- The Correlation of Capital and Labor. Doubleday. 1926.
References
- ^ a b c "Gabriel Wells (1930)". Antiquarian Booksellers' Association. 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Schmidt, Barbara. "A History of and Guide to Uniform Editions of Mark Twain's Works". twainquotes.com. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Incunabula Leaf Biblia Latina (ca 1450) Gutenberg". The McCune Collection. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ a b c Wolfe, Beatie (2014). "250 Years of Bookselling". Antiquarian Booksellers' Association. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ Randall 1969, pp. 10–12.
- ^ Randall 1969, p. 77.
- ^ "Barton Currie: Formidable Book Angler". American Book Collecting. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ Randall 1969, pp. 6–10.
Sources
- Randall, David A. (1969). Dukedom Large Enough. New York: Random House.
Max Harzof.